'You only regret the chances you never took'

I lost my mom when I was eight years old, so my childhood was not easy. My dad raised me alone, and he has played a significant role in shaping me into the person that I am today. His presence in my life has made a huge difference in keeping me on the right path. My strength and bold character come from him.

My relationship with God is a big part of my life. My mom instilled that in me and after she passed, my dad decided to continue the journey and kept us in the church. The church was also very supportive in raising us. You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child? The church was my village. I always say that God has kept me throughout the years, it's just been His grace and His mercy all along.

Growing up, I wanted to be an optometrist because it sounded fancy. Fast forward to Grade 10 and I realised that although I was passing physics, I certainly wasn’t passionate about it. Accounting was a stronger interest for me, so I decided to study business and that’s when my career skyrocketed. It’s why I ended up doing business administration at university, and I did very well.

I worked for my dad for a while after university. My dad owns a business and so I helped him out after university until I got an internship at Henley. I didn’t even know Henley at that point, I just knew that it was a business school. Now, as a programme coordinator, I am so grateful to have walked through the Henley doors. Henley has helped me become the person that I am today, being in this environment has shown me that there is still a lot I need to discover about myself.

What I love about my role is that I get to help people. I just love seeing people smile and when they see me, they're like, ’Oh, you're so helpful. Thank you for everything’. I've learned to be calmer, more patient and have gained a better understanding of people’s differences. The main thing for me is that I'm serving people, whether it's my colleagues or my students who are on the programme. I've learned a lot about serving, even though we do that in the church. It’s different when you are in an environment where you feel like you don’t have to, but you still want to be of service to others. That’s also why I enjoy face-to-face classes because I get to pour myself out to my students.

My students have pushed me to believe that I can achieve so much more in life. Most of my students are in the corporate world, which has given me exposure to it, and made me want to push myself even harder. I'm happy with the impact that I've had over the past three years that I've been working here at Henley, but I also know that there's a lot that I need to attain.

This year is basically my study year. In the spirit of discovering myself and chasing my dreams, I did Henley’s High Impact Communication short course earlier this year. I'm currently doing the RISE! Advanced Certificate in Management Practice.

The fear of being stuck in one place is what motivates me to keep going. I want to do more for myself and others, I don’t want to remain stagnant. My dad is a true role model for me. In difficult circumstances, he was able to achieve so many unbelievable things. He taught me that my future is really in my hands, and I can achieve whatever I set mind to, if I work hard enough.

I would tell young people looking to make an impact in the world that you only regret the chances you never took. You'll sit there thinking, what if? What if I actually did this? And it's something that I fight with myself about, I constantly ask myself why I am not challenging myself more. What's the worst that could happen? You fail? Then you try again. The biggest mistake is never trying, because that’s how you set yourself up for failure in the future.